President Donald Trump imposed a tariff of 10% on all imports as a baseline, and additional, reciprocal levies on nations like China. His effort is intended to restructure the imbalance of trade that now exists in the world that have put American companies and workers at a disadvantage.
Declaring foreign trade and economic practices a national emergency, Trump ordered that on April 5, the 10% tariff will be imposed. Then on April 9, a higher tariff will be applied to imports from countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits. The tariffs will remain in place until Trump determines that nonreciprocal trade arrangements and other unfair practices have been addressed.
The trade deficit was $1.2 trillion in 2024. The tariffs are in response to the economic and trade policies of other nations, which include devaluing their currencies and imposing high taxes on American goods.
Trump held up a chart during the outdoor announcement at the White House that shows how the United States has one of the lowest average tariff rates globally, while major trading partners impose massive tariffs on American goods. India imposes 52%, China imposes 67%, and the European Union imposes 39% on American goods. In addition, counterfeit goods, pirated software and stolen trade secrets by communist regimes like China cost the US economy between $225 billion and $699 billion a year.
Trump’s tariffs on China will amount to 54%, as part the additional “reciprocal” levies on “nations that treat us badly.”
Additional tariffs, such as a 25% tariff on all foreign-made and imported auto that takes place at midnight, be rolled out over the coming days.
“Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country,” Trump said. “This will indeed be the golden age of America.”
Spared from the tariffs are some metals. Steel, copper, gold, and aluminum imports already have a 25% duty on them and won’t be subject to higher reciprocal tariffs. Also exempt from the additional reciprocal tariffs are pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lumber articles.
The White House fact sheet can be read here.
Thank you! President Trump you are a life saver and a country saver for the USA!!
DK; Because I voted for the Trumpster I do have the right to complain as I do not get emotionally attached to the people I vote for.
Big dog economists reject the Presidents attempts to leverage other nations to acknowledge grievances and change positions by the U.S. imposing economic sanctions (tariffs) that are killing the U.S. economy, just look at the stock market today and the loss of security’s values long and short term., he gets an F on the economy from me.
So.. the market hit a bump.. and you are ready to throw in the towel? C’mon… it has taken far larger drops and recovered. The Dow is a reflection of people’s emotions and fears.. do not be one of the yo-yos. Stay the course, sometimes you need to weather a storm before the sun shines.
The fears are 100% justified. The last time these sorts of policies were tried, unemployment went to 30% and wages fell by 40%. The “sun” didn’t shine until over a decade later after the policies were changed.
The last time these sorts of policies were tried was after the great depression had already started. Facts and history bear this out.
The President and his team are doing their best to get the country back on track. There may be a little short term pain but we will be much better off because of it.
It will be interesting to see how long the MAGA cult continues sticks with Trump as they watch the price of everything they buy go up, the value of their retirement accounts go down, and the whole country slide into recession. I mean, we all know that MAGA will double down, but how long will it be before they break? Musk is already under the bus. It didn’t need to be this way, folks. But you voted for him.
We are watching with great anticipation, and will relish watching it when it happens.
You aren’t really much on economics, are you, dog? We have already been paying high prices for imports, and we haven’t been selling our products because of the tariffs. Now that things have evened up, it will pay for companies to bring home their production plants, employing more Americans and securing our supply chains. But I suppose that will cut off some money to your fellow travelers in communist countries, so I guess I should feel sorry for you.
They will never break from Trump. He could deport their grandchildren and flush away their retirement savings but they will always come back to “I loved him on “The Apprentice” talking down to minorities!”
You will “relish watching it when it happens”? I knew you were a leftist Democrat but that is a new low in nastiness. My dad used to call someone like you a ****stirrer. Sorry, not sorry…
Madam, it’s your man DJT that is doing the stirring. You won’t like what’s coming. Admit it.
At times like these you realize that you truly can’t fix MAGA stupid. But it’s about to hit them hard.
Oh Whidbey, how pleasantly naive you are. Trumpers will never admit they were wrong! They are far too indoctrinated. Nice thought though.
I prefer to think I’m optimistic, but sadly you’re probably right that naive is a better characterization.
The extent to which humans are capable of self-delusion, simply to avoid exposing their gullibility, astounds. Even self harm doesn’t seem to deter them.
Whidbey,
Actively rooting against your own country, that’s a new low for you but considering the spiral you’ve been on it’s not surprising.
We have enough cheap Chinese knockoff goods in this country, if people don’t want to pay the tariffs they can buy quality American made goods. Sure it’s going to impact Walmart, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing is it? Returning good paying jobs to American soil while trying to get some economic balance on tariffs imposed by other countries is the hill the Democratic Party plans to die on?
Sorry, mate. It’s seeing the MAGA cult finally throw their Lord and Savior Donald J Trump under the bus that I’m rooting for, not the unnecessary, wanton destruction of the US economy.
My mid-career kids are now fearful of losing their jobs, and my beautiful granddaughter will suffer as a result. Why shouldn’t I be pi*sed?
Watch the markets today and see how happy Americans are with MAGAnomics.
Whidbey,
Normally I disagree with you on your views, but unfortunately you may be correct on this one. I hope that a recession isn’t going to happen. The markets plummeted today and hopefully isn’t the norm this summer. I am upset at the way that the chainsaw is cutting. Even Bill ‘No Inhale’ Clinton had a more organized method to trim the fat. Hoping for the best for those that you care about.
Just because we disagree on most topics doesn’t mean we can’t be civil about it.
Congratulations Whidbey, you are true to type. It was your generation that put your children and grandchildren in shackles all so you could live beyond your means and now you complain when someone dares try and right your wrong and your stock portfolio drops a little.
Well, Steve O, thanks for lashing out. It’s a little out of character for you.
But honestly, truth be told, I’ve worked hard, paid my taxes, obeyed the law, and kept my head down my entire life. I’ve also contributed a lot to my community. So I don’t know what you’re bitching about or why do you think I’m personally to blame for the current mess. For most of my life, at least up until about 15 years ago, I was a committed conservative and voted Republican. But when the whole MAGA clown show came along, well, it was time to leave that party.
Your nastiness today makes me question why you’re so angry. I think that you may be a younger person who feels a bit disenfranchised at the moment. You voted for Trump thinking he would make your life better, but now in a few weeks’ time you see that he has drawn you into the black hole of economic stagflation. And you don’t like it. Well what goes around comes around. Elections have consequences. Deal with it. But don’t hang it on me mate, because I didn’t do it.
I find it interesting that you think this is me lashing out and being nasty, perspective I suppose. I guess sometimes the truth hurts and you don’t have the ability to deal with the fact that your generation have thrived off the backs of your children and childrens children…that’s a tough pill to swallow.
Well then I guess you resent your parents and/or grandparents as well. That’s sad.
There’s a difference between resenting and holding accountable. If you think people should resent your generation for how they’ve treated subsequent generations that’s on you. I understand why you would feel guilty about what your generation has done. Not that it matters, but my grandparents are a long since gone, and I have one surviving parent. I don’t resent them but I do acknowledge the fact that their generations have saddled my, and future, generations with an unsustainable debt that has devalued the wealth of our nation. What’s sad is people who fail to acknowledge basic facts.
Remember – it was created by both parties, including a lot by Trump in his last term. I’ve voted for both parties and both are culpable. So blame the elected officials, not individuals.
I don’t like the debt either, but telling me I’m personally to blame is like me telling you you’re responsible for the current mess because you were alive at the time.
Everyone, including you, has benefited from the federal spending that caused the debt. It can be fixed, but don’t do it recklessly as Trump is now doing.
If you explain it clearly, and ask people to do their part, share the burden, and do it in an organized way you will have much better success. People understand necessary austerity and sacrifice, but they recoil and resist rash, autocratic, and mean-spirited efforts like those underway now.
Whidbey,
I blamed your generation. I never blamed a specific political party nor did I ever specifically blame you for all of the debt.
I can feel your pain. I know what its like to suffer from the poor decisions of a feckless leader as well.
Two of my mid-career children had to quit their jobs and my son got kicked out of the air force for refusing the phony vaccine mandate.
It also cost me 50K per year for private school so my granddaughters wouldn’t be forced to use the same bathroom as boys pretending to be girls.
I was just as pissed off then as you are today.
You can’t tariff yourself to prosperity. Only solid R+D that creates the next wave of innovation can because technology eventually leaks out and proliferates, copied by others. Economic isolation is a fool’s errand.
Whidbey,
Do you acknowledge that these other countries have levied tariffs on US goods or do you deny basic facts? If you acknowledge these basic facts, why do you think all of these other countries levy those tariffs? Do you think that they all want to suffer through poverty, or do you imagine they could have a reason for charging more for American made goods? Maybe that reason is to promote goods in their country over American made goods.
Among the other things you don’t understand is the art of negotiation. Tariffs are an attention getting step, similar to the 2×4 between the eyes used by old time mule trainers. Now that Trump has their attention, I expect we will see some movement. Cheers –
So, Trump is playing four-dimensional chess to renegotiate the trade agreement he made with Canada and Mexico because the deal is so bad? The only one getting a 2×4 between the eyes are working class Americans.
“……. Only solid R+D that creates the next wave of innovation can……..”
AI has delivered us to near complete machine dominance. Both you and Trump are wrong, Manufacturing was an industry of the 1500’s-1900’s. Now the quandary is figuring out what to do with billions of people who think they know and deserve everything without doing anything. The PFD proves that.
Chinese are fighting for they’er economic lives everyday., America’s economic I’lls can be cured by doing one thing, ”Work”. We’re spoiled and it may be a long time before we can show some economic muscle.
Summarize; Imposing revenge Tariffs are not the answer. Modest trade fees and a renewed work ethic without free government giveaway’s (welfare) with the economy in mind would be a more wise approach.
Dog, are you by any chance watching CNN? All of these countries are taking all of our $$$$. They are making everything that you pick up in all of the stores. Bring the jobs back to AMERICA!!! And then they can buy our products. And make our country grow. Not theirs. Got it? Or do I need more crayons?
Note how Russia and Hungary are notably not on the tariff list. Speaks volumes.
LOL! Russia is on the Sanctions List. You can’t tariff what doesn’t exist.
United States imports from Russia in 2024 were US$3.27 Billion according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, and comprised mostly fertilizer and platinum.
The ignorance and narcissism in this comment is truly impressive.
I’d say do unto other countries as they are doing to us in the trade of goods and one-sided tariffs on our goods in their markets.
Israel has already dropped their tariffs on US products, others will soon follow. Go Maga, Go Maha, Go Doge
Seems the price of everything already went up pretty drastically under Biden.
The disastrous way 45 dealt with COVID was the main cause, not your go-to phantom.
“…….It will be interesting to see how long the MAGA cult continues sticks with Trump……..”
While not considering myself a MAGA person, that answer for me is really simple:
As long as he runs against Democrats, he’ll get my vote. As sad as it is to write, and as disgusted as I am with several of his acts in the past two months, I’d cast my vote for him again simply because his opponents over the past eight years are completely unacceptable. I’ve picked my poison, and while I’m getting pretty sick, the Democrat poison is definitely more deadly.
Exactly why America needs a real Independent option – someone who isn’t beholden to either of the two broken parties, neither the nihilistic Republicans who pessimistically want to dismantle the government while feeding on its carrion and idealistic Democrats who naively believe every problem can be solved with more bureaucracy, spending, and regulations—regardless of effectiveness. America needs a leader who prioritizes practical solutions over partisan loyalty, represents the people instead of special interests, and can break the cycle of dysfunction that both parties sustain.
“…….Exactly why America needs a real Independent option – someone who isn’t beholden to either of the two broken parties……..”
You’re currently as close as you’re ever going to get. Trump has hijacked the Republican Party in a hostile takeover. The American Socialists and American Communist parties long ago hijacked the Democrat Party by deception. Both parties are essentially organized crime networks. Next comes what we see in Mexico; it looks like a revolution or civil war, but it’s really just the next phase of de-civilization, like the 500+ year post-Roman Republic.
W.T. Sherman was 100% correct in his letter to the political leadership of the City of Atlanta just before he burned the place to the ground. You might want to review that prose………..’https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/items/show/23
Maybe he should bring Hulk Hogan in for tariff policy since Kid Rock clearly isn’t the economics genius we expected.
Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock are at least financially savvy enough to look up information before posting a comment on a web page. Imagine if either of them claimed the S&P 500 dropped to 4100 when the closing value the day before was almost 5600. They would be embarrassed to the point they would never show their face again.
Tough talking Ontario Premier Doug Ford has once again tucked tail and is now calling for Canada to drop all tariffs against the US.
Tough guy Doug said “we’d be willing to take those off tomorrow if he took all the tariffs off.” When asked about removing ALL Canadian tariffs off Tough talking Doug said “We will take them all—that’s right—” and followed up with “we’re willing to take these tariffs off, like, in the next minute if he said he’s taking their tariffs off.” Then he stammered on and said “I had a conversation with the Prime Minister this morning, and I can tell you one thing—if he dropped all the tariffs, we’d have zero tariffs.”
‘https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/04/02/ontario_leader_doug_ford_were_ready_to_take_down_all_tariffs_if_us_does_the_same.html
Wasn’t Trump the person who dropped NAFTA in 2020 and negotiated the current trade agreement with Canada and Mexico USMCA), the trade agreement, at the time, he called the “best agreement we’ve ever made.” Doesn’t his current stance mean that either (1) he was a terrible negotiator in 2020, or (2) a liar, or (3) deluded?
“……..Doesn’t his current stance mean that either (1) he was a terrible negotiator in 2020, or (2) a liar, or (3) deluded?…….”
It proves that he finally became a politician (after winning only one election to that point in his life), which is a terrible negotiator, a liar, and deluded. But now he is a lame duck. He doesn’t have to play the same game…….at least to get re-elected. He only has to lie because he’s still dealing with the media, other politicians, and the money changers.
Tom,
You should inform yourself as to exactly what was covered in the USMCA Agreement, here’s a hint for you…not all goods from Canada or Mexico were covered in the deal and those that aren’t covered are now having tariffs applied. Yours is just another late to the discussion repeat of the misinformed Democrat talking point. You can do better than that Tom, I’m sure of it.
Steve-O, Are you saying USMCA was not the “best agreement we’ve ever made?”
Even if it was “the best deal we ever made” doesn’t mean it was the best deal we could ever make, especially before his lame duck term, and especially since getting tough brings on the hyperventilating we’re seeing today.
That written, I’m nit saying that I agree with the administrations moves, but I sure understand the timing, and I’m not surprised a whit with the pushback.
Dog, I would encourage you to revisit the last 8 years and tell me how Biden was better; please leave off your rose colored glasses and leftist journalism during this assesment.
There was more politically fattened pockets on both sides and Americans abandoned, as well as fattened pockets.
I taught my children to vote what’s best for our nation and not you personally.
You shouldn’t have been dating Trump or Biden, just looking for the best President.You are truly as naive as they come. You continue to spew venom quicker than a rattlesnake. It’s folks like you that I won’t defend when the enemy comes knocking at your door. If you’re so smart, walk away from your parents generation of CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN news. They’ve been fed malarky and are so naive to believe it, that you fell into that same trap.
On this announcment, the markets crater.
Your 401K, it now has less value.
The Alaska Permanent Fund? it lost millions.
Hint: Its a global economy, stupid.
It’s all scrip. It was worthless before he was elected. You just didn’t know it yet.
One nation that did not appear on Trump’s list of 180 countries subject to tariffs is Russia. With Trump, it is always Russia, Russia, Russia. Also missing from the list is Hungary—ruled by Trump’s role-model autocrat, Viktor Orbán. Funny, that.
Krasnov, indeed.
“……..One nation that did not appear on Trump’s list of 180 countries subject to tariffs is Russia……….”
There’s no trade. Russia is currently the most sanctioned nation in history. You can’t tariff zero trade.
United States imports from Russia in 2024 were US$3.27 Billion according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, and comprised mostly fertilizer and platinum.
Looks like a buying opportunity to me. Pouring money into the brokerage on the cheap.
such caring thoughts you’ve exposed.
You can’t fix stupid
No, but you can vote it out of office, AND WE WILL.
That has become more than likely. If Trump has done anything for sure since November, it was to guarantee the loss of both the House and Senate in 2026. So he and his have less than two years now to grow the most and best hay they can, because the sun stops shining come January 2027. After that, it will be all more of his EO stuff, but with more opposition. In short, this all just appears to be a simple flash in the pan. The net effect is further and accelerated destruction of the republic. Our destination remains unclear, but it appears certain to be a place few of us will enjoy.
Enjoy the ride………….
Who do we put in?? Kamala? AOC? Cory Booker??
“[T]oday protectionism is being used by some American politicians as a cheap form of nationalism, a fig leaf for those unwilling to maintain America’s military strength and who lack the resolve to stand up to real enemies—countries that would use violence against us or our allies. Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies. We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends—weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world—all while cynically waving the American flag. The expansion of the international economy is not a foreign invasion; it is an American triumph, one we worked hard to achieve, and something central to our vision of a peaceful and prosperous world of freedom.” Ronald Reagan (1988 – Radio Address to the Nation on the Canadian Elections and Free Trade)
Bravo Bravo!
A rebalancing is appropriate after facilitating the growth of many countries over the last 40 years. As the largest consumer nation, foreign manufacturers still want access to our markets and will pay the tariff and absorb the cost or manufacture here. Short term pain, long term gain.
I just realized the last time the stock market tanked this historically, Trump was also president. We just needed him to return one more time to finish us off.
COVID may have been a factor there, Sebastian.
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I am actually surprised you are back here making comments after your claim the S&P dropped to 4100 when it was well over 5500 at closing the day before. I am still pointing and laughing at you for that one.
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Until you actually start looking information up before you comment, I might recommend laying low.
I am not highly educated, nor very knowledgeable about economics. I certainly would like to see more companies move their manufacturing plants to the U.S. to create more American jobs.
But while tariffs might have some impact, I wonder that the costs of doing manufacturing in the U.S.- building plants using union labor, dealing with environmental and safety regulations, paying union wages and benefits to factory workers, paying for liability insurance and other costs that might not be encountered by doing business in another country, might have more to do with the decision of where to conduct business than tariffs. Just thinking out loud, and as said before, I sure as heck ain’t an economist.
Neither am I an economist, but I sure am not turning a blind eye to American workers and their expectations as human beings. What say you to the slave trade shifted to other countries that don’t pay their workers a living wage, enforce child labor laws, safety standards, and provide for retirement? Ever notice when retirees stopped receiving their proverbial golden watch on their last day of work?
I’m half way impressed. Most self-professed conservatives here say they know prices will be going up if this half-baked scheme sticks to the wall. Now, if we can just get people to say outload, TARIFFS ARE CONSUMPTION TAXES, like a sales tax. The difference is the exact % passed along to the consumer is hidden, unless you’re going to do what VW is going to do by adding an additional sticker to the window indicating for example . . . TRUMP TARIFF TAX: 7,995
So here’s the thing, Gunner. You can build walls around your economy with tariffs, but when you do that you remove the stimulus of global competition from the economic equation, and your internal businesses begin to stagnate.
When the tariff walls finally come down, if they ever do, you find that your businesses are far, far behind those in other countries, and they collapse all the more easily.
There is only one way to play this game and that is to continually be the leader in terms of research, development, and improvements in technology. By doing this you create and retain a competitive edge, a barrier to entry, over other countries.
You see, technology eventually leaks out of any economy and proliferates to lower cost locations. The only way to stay ahead of this fundamental economic phenomenon is to continue to innovate and thereby create the Next Big Thing.
Everybody loves Capitalism, right? Well, one of its fundamental tenants is that competition makes things better. So, if you can’t stand the heat, then I guess you’d better get out of the kitchen. But if you bail, you will initiate a downward spiral of competitive regression from which you will probably never recover. That’s the hard truth of Capitalism and economics.
Whidbey,
I see that you still fail to acknowledge that these other countries have levied tariffs on US goods, why do you continue to deny basic facts? Why do you think all of these other countries levy those tariffs? Do you think that they all want to suffer through poverty, or do you imagine they could have a reason for charging more for American made goods? Maybe that reason is to promote goods in their country over American made goods.
If you ever doubted that MAGA was a cult, you only have to look at some of the comments here in MRAK. There is literally nothing that Trump could do that they would disagree with or question. They cheer him on as he destroys our economy.
Jonestown Guyana springs to mind….
The tariff war with China will price out our dependence on China to process our fish. Looks like we better reconvert that magnificent church in west Anchorage that was originally a fish-processing plant. Marketing the product to ourselves shouldn’t be a problem either, should it? This might take a few years, so our fisher-people will have to be content to let our wild stocks grow unmolested until that happens. Ah yes, the Golden Age of Alaska is within sight!
“……..Marketing the product to ourselves shouldn’t be a problem either, should it?…….”
It always has been. Why should that change?
Dear Editor: Care to write a story or two about how MAGAnomics is faring this week?
I hope you are a subscriber to the newsletter Dog. If not, you may have missed it, plus you may have missed the story today on Alaska fishing impacts, but you keep doing you. I’m busy over here. – sd
Whidbey:
How about you take on that task?
You sure have a lot to say in the comments section. I would love to see you author a guest article.
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Suzanne, please publish it if Whidbey does write it.
My field of expertise is health science, but there were several business-type classes in pharmacy school. I thought the reason, the main reason why corporations took their manufacturing requirements outside the USA was because American corporations found the third-world countries less expensive to produce goods, and therefore the goods in the US market could be less expensive for consumers. Seems to me that the robber barons promoting tariffs are in the business of punishing low income consumers for wanting access to purchase less expensive items.
“……..Seems to me that the robber barons promoting tariffs are in the business of punishing low income consumers for wanting access to purchase less expensive items………”
In accordance with the understanding you just outlined, that can only apply to those “robber barons” who didn’t invest in foreign manufacturing and importing and that cannot include Mr. Musk, right?
How much do you think I know about the immorality of Elon Musk? I only know that he begged an American Japanese car manufacturer here in the USA to use their facilities and when his company got off the ground, he promptly bit the hand that fed him … hungry avaricious shark-like behavior is to be expected of robber barons, but does correlation reflect causation? You tell me.
It would be great if there is any follow-up article about Trump tariff? I’m sure someone at MRAk can clearly explain why stock tanking is making America Great Again?
Stock tanking?
The S&P 500 (a pretty good indicator of the stock market as a whole) has plummeted all they way down to the level it was at in Feb 2024. While that is a major drop, it is not “tanking.”
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I may have to alter my timeline for retirement by zero days.